Bonds vs. Griffey Tonight: It Could Be a Classic

Nancy Gay

Published
4:00 am PDT, Tuesday, June 17, 1997

Imagine if Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey, Jr. had locked horns in interleague play, say, a month ago. Back then, home run projections had Griffey hitting a couple hundred bombs, after he set a major-league record for the most home runs through April and May.

Just think -- with Bonds on his heels, heck, Junior might have hit enough shots this season to threaten Hank Aaron's career mark. Thankfully, the home run hype has settled. Now, the Junior Watch is more a matter of eager anticipation than out-of-this-world gluttony.

A reality check still finds Griffey on pace to break Roger Maris' record of 61 -- he hit his 27th homer Saturday -- but it's no longer the sure thing all those experts made it out to be. And 40 might be an unrealistic number for Bonds, considering the staggering number of walks he's seeing this season.

Sunday, the Giants' most potent hitting star was walked intentionally three times -- three! -- with men on base in a 4-1 victory over the Angels. Griffey walked three times Sunday as well.

Ultimately, the two-game series between the Giants and Seattle Mariners beginning tonight at 3Com Park might be find two of the best all-around players in the game taking that frustrating shuffle toward first several more times. But does this diminish the historical matchup between these talented sons of major-league stars?

Not at all. It's no boxing match, but it'll be great fun to watch. Bonds and Griffey square off every year in the All- Star game and during spring training but this is the first time their paths cross in the regular season.

While Griffey has been loathe to look ahead to the meeting, Bonds is raring to go. "I just want to play against Junior, that's all," Bonds said last week. "We just grew up together, our families have been close all our lives and we know we'll never get an opportunity to play with each other. So it will be fun to just be on the same field, regardless of whether we're on opposite sides."